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SAP ordered to pay Oracle $1.3bn

Drop-your-pants time (again)

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In a final act of ritual humiliation, SAP has been ordered to pay Oracle $1.3bn over stolen intellectual property.

A US court has told the world's largest business software company to pay up after Oracle had sought damages for theft of its IP by defunct SAP subsidiary TomorrowNow.

Oracle had been gunning for $1.7bn in damages in closing arguments in the case, while SAP called for an award closer to $40m.

SAP has been on the back foot through the trial. It had already admitted wrongdoing by TomorrowNow. It agreed to pay Oracle $120m in legal fees and its co-CEO was baited into apologizing to Oracle under pressure from Oracle's attorney.

Bloombergreports that this is the largest jury award of 2010, the largest ever for copyright infringement and the 23rd-largest of all time for any jury award.

SAP is now holding out the prospect of an appeal. In a statement, SAP is reported to have said: "We are, of course, disappointed by this verdict and will pursue all available options, including post-trial motions and appeal if necessary. This will unfortunately be a prolonged process and we continue to hope that the matter can be resolved appropriately without more years of litigation."

Clinging to its dignity in the face of a triumphant Ellison, SAP added: "The mark of a leading company is the way it handles its mistakes. As stated in court, we regret the actions of TN, we have accepted liability, and have been willing to fairly compensate Oracle."

SAP still doesn’t get it. That's what you get for your co-founder failing to show the proper respect by dropping his pants and mooning Ellison's fleet on the high seas. ®